Devices for use in stitching together plies of fabric



March 9, 1965 LIGHT 3,172,379

DEVICES FOR USE IN STITCHING TOGETHER PLIES 0F FABRIC Filed Feb. 2, 1962 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fig.1.

B. LIGHT March 9, 1965 DEVICES FOR USE IN STITCHING TOGETHER PLIES OF FABRIC 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 2, 1962 March 9, 1965 B. LIGHT 3,172,379

DEVICES FOR USE IN STITCHING TOGETHER PLIES OF FABRIC Filed Feb. 2, 1962 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 United States Patent Office 3,172,379 Patented Mar. 9, 1965 3,172,379 DEVICES FOR USE IN STITCG TOGETHER PLES E FABRIC Bert Light, 4 Bath St., City Road, London EC. 1, England Filed Feb. 2, 1962, Ser. No. 170,622

Claims priority, application Great Britain, Feb. 15, 1961,

5,71 1/ 61 Claims. (Ci. 112-2) This invention relates to devices for use in stitching together plies of fabric. In the manufacture of shirt collars, the stitching together of plies of fabric is effected either by means of a sewing machine operator who holds the fabric plies together and guides them under the needle of a sewing machine, or, by automatic machinery in which the plies are held together on an open frame which is me chanically guided under the needle of a sewing machine. In the first case, a high degree of skill is called for on the part of the sewing machine operator, whilst, in the second case, the machinery involved is complex and expensive. It is, accordingly, one object of the present invention to provide a device for use in stitching together plies of fabric which is simple and cheap to produce and which does not require any appreciable degree of skill on the part of a sewing machine operator for its employment.

According to the present invention, in a device for use with a sewing machine to effect stitching together of plies of fabric comprising two fiat sheets of which an upper sheet can be located so as to be superposed flatwise on a lower sheet, the sheets being formed each with a slot constituting a predetermined stitching path, the said slots being disposed in register when the sheets are superposed and at least one of the sheets having its inner surface adapted to grip an outer ply of fabric placed between the sheets, guide means are provided on an upper surface of the upper sheet at or near an end of the stitching path for engaging with the presser foot of a sewing machine so that by movement of the guide means relative to the presser foot, the height of the presser foot relative to the upper surface of the upper sheet is varied.

It will be appreciated that the movement of the presser foot relative to the guide means can be utilized to effect starting and stopping of the sewing machine.

The invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of a device, according to the invention for stitching together fabric plies of a shirt collar;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary plan View of the device of FIGURE 1 drawn to a larger scale so as more clearly to illustrate certain details; and

FIGURES 3, 4, 5 and 6 are sectional views taken respectively on the lines III--llI, IV-IV and VI-VI of FIGURE 2.

Referring to the drawings the device comprises two elongated similarly sized fiat sheets 1 and 2 of substantially rigid plastics material, of which the lower sheet 2 is formed from laminated plastics material whilst the upper sheet 1 is formed from transparent plastics material. The sheets 1 and 2 are formed with elongated slots 3 and 4 conforming to the peripheral shape of a shirt collar the slot 4 in the lower sheet being somewhat narrower than the slot 3 in the upper sheet. In the flatwise superposed position of the sheets, the axes of the slots 3 and 4 formed therein are in register.

For providing improved frictional gripping of the fabric plies placed between the sheets, the inner surface of the upper sheet 1 has secured thereto lining pads 6 which are disposed outwardly of a lining sheets 7 secured to the lower sheet 2. The pads 6 and sheet 7 may comprise, for example, glass paper or foam plastics material.

When the sheets are brought together with fabric plies therebetween and located as hereinafter described, the plies are firmly secured by slight stretching thereof between the sheet 7 and the pads 6 against any tendency to be dragged under the influence of the sewing machine needle. Moreover as the width of the slot in the lower sheet is only suflicient to allow the free passage of the sewing needle, the tendency of the sewing needle to drag the fabric plies laterally with respect to the slots in the sheets is substantially avoided.

Releasable means are provided for locating the sheets together in the superposed position thereof. To this end, there are provided on the inner surface of the lower sheet adjacent the side edges thereof upstanding projections 8 which engage in complementarily shaped recesses 9 formed in the transverse side edges of the upper sheet. On the outer surface of the upper sheet adjacent each recess is provided a knob 10 which is held by the sewing machine operator when guiding the device under the needle of the sewing machine.

The releasable locating means also include slots 20 formed in the top edge of the upper sheet 1 which cooperate with upstanding projections 21 secured to the lower sheet as by rivets 22. Near the bottom edge of the sheet 1 are formed apertures 23 which in the superposed position of the sheet 1 on the sheet 2 are engaged by projections 24 which are carried on strips 25 secured by rivets 26 to the lower sheet 2. Extending inwardly from the bottom edge of sheet 2 between the sheet 2 and each strip 25 is a spacer element 27 the function of which is hereinafter described.

The lower sheet of the device is preferably provided on its upper surface with markings such as the line 11 indicating the mid-length of the slots 3 and 4 whereby plies of collar fabric can be accurately located on the lower sheet prior to superposition thereon of the upper sheet.

The device is used with a sewing machine having a presser foot 12 on a lower surface of which is formed a projection 13 which during operation engages within the slot in the upper sheet of the device and through which a sewing needle 14 reciprocates. It will be appreciated that the needle hole in the presser foot extends axially through both the presser foot 12 and the projection 13 thereof.

To ensure that the projection on the presser foot can only drop into the slot 3 in the upper sheet 1 at the beginning of the sewing path, there are provided on the upper surface of the upper sheet adjacent the beginning of the slot in that sheet, guide means comprising a downwardly bevelled surface 30, an abutment block 31 and an abutment ramp 32 disposed at right angles to the block 31, the latter and the ramp 32 being tangential to the surface 39. The presser foot can thus be guided along an edge 31a of the block 31 towards the entrance of the sewing path. In the course of movement of the presser foot along the edge 31a towards the ramp 32, the presser foot is progressively lowered into the beginning of the slot 3 when the projection 13 engages the surface 30. The abutment ramp 32 prevents over-shooting of the foot beyond the slot 3.

At the end of the slot 3 in the upper sheet there is provided on a side of the slot a ramp 40 extending parallel with the slot, the height of the ramp increasing from zero in the direction of sewing. Thus at the end of the sewing path the presser foot engages ramp 40 and is thereby lifted progressively out of the sewing path and onto the upper surface of a block 41 similar to block 31.

It has been found that if the upper sheet 1 is subject to impact, for example, by dropping thereof on its edge, splitting of the sheet tends to occur along lines respectively collinear with the ends of the slot 3. To prevent this happening, narrow slots 55 each terminating in circular apertures 55 are formed at the respective ends of the slot 3 and collinear therewith. At the beginning of the slot 3, the aperture 56 and part of the slot 55 extending therefrom is sandwiched between'the block 31 on the upper surface of the sheet 1 and a pad '7 of laminated plastics material secured to the under surface of the sheet 1. At the end of the slot 3, the aperture 56 and the part of the slot 55 extending therefrom is similarly sandwiched between the block 41 and a pad 5% similar to pad 57. With this arrangement it will be apparent that if the sheet 1 is accidentally dropped on its end, no appreciable compressive forces are transmitted to the material adjacent the ends of the slot 3 and splitting of the material at those locations is avoided.

Preferably, the device is operated with a sewing machine powered by an electric motor which is adapted by energising a solenoid operated clutch to transmit drive to the sewing head of the machine. In the series path between the'electric motor and the solenoid operated clutch there is provided a micro-switch which is closed to commence operation of the sewing needle when the projection '13 on the presser foot drops into the beginning of the slot 3 in the upper sheet of the device and is opened to terminate operation of the needle when the projection 13 on the presser foot is lifted on the ramp 40 out of the slot 3 in the upper sheet.

Thus, during operation, the superposed plies of a collar are placed flat on the upper surface of the lower sheet in alignment with the markings, e.g. the line 11, thereon. The plies of the collar consist of outer plies 5t and 51 which are disposed in register with one another on the 'upper surface of the lower sheet 2 and an interlining ply 52 which includes a neckband section 52b and a cape section 52a and which is superposed on the plies 5t and 5 1. It will be noted that the bottom edge parts of the plies 5t and '51 project beyond the bottom edge of section 52b of the ply 52 and that as indicated by the broken lines in FIGURE. 2 which depict the position occupied by the collar plies relative to the device, the projecting edge parts of the plies Stl and 51 are closely engaged between the sheet 2 and strips 25 and abutthe top edges of the elements 27 whilst the bottom edge of the interlining ply sectionSZa abuts the top edge of the strips 25. When the collar plies arearranged in the manner described upon the sheet 1, the sheet 1 is superposed thereon by first engaging projection 21 in the slots 22 and then pivotally moving the sheet 1 down onto the sheet 2 so as to engage the projections 8 in the recesses 9 and the projections '25 in the apertures 23. In this way the collar plies are symmetrically engaged about the line 11 by the pads 6 and movement of the plies lengthwise of the sheets 1 and Z'is prevented. Asthe pads 6 engage the collar plies slight stretching of the latter occurs and the plies are secured against any tendency to be dragged under the influence of the sewing needle.

It will be appreciated that as the upper sheet is transparent any misalignment of the fabric plies'is at once noticeable and the plies can be re-adjusted.

The device is now placed on the sewing machine table with the outer surface of the lower sheet 1 flatwise in engagement with the table. The projection 13 on the "presser foot 12 is then placed against the' edge 31a of the abutment 31 at the entrance to the slot 3 in the upper sheet '1 whereupon the device is moved until the pr0jection 13 .on the presser foot 12 drops into the slot in the upper sheet. At this moment the microswitch on the sewingmachine is closed and sewing commences. "During sewing the device is drawn under the needle and a line of stitching is made in the parts ofthe plies disposed in the registering slots of the device thereby securing the plies together At the end of the sewing path the presser foot is raised on the ramp 40 thereby lifting the projection on the presser foot out of the slot in the upper sheet of the device. When the presser foot in thus raised the microswitch is opened and the solenoid of the clutch is ie-energised thus cutting oil the drive to the sewing head from the electric motor. Sewing thus ceases. The device is then removed from the sewing machine and the collar plies are removed therefrom by releasing the upper sheet from the lower sheet. further set of plies may then be inserted in the device. a

If desired, the needle plate of the sewing machine may be formed with a small upstanding boss which during the sewing operation engages the slot inthe lower sheet of the device. Owing to the variation in curvature in the sewing track provided by the. slots of the device, it is desirable to remove the transporter mechanism of the i sewing machine and rely on manual drawing of the device under the needle to obtain optimum speed of sewing and length of stitches tlnoughout the sewing track.

it will be apparent that the device described provides arsimple, effective and cheap means whereby plies of fabric can be stitched together. The degree of skill called 'for on the part of the sewing machine operator is comparatively slight and the device can be employed in conjunction with a sewing machine to stitch together fabric plies of textile articles at least as quickly as such plies are stitched together on known forms'of automatic machinery.

What is claimed is:

1. A template device for use beneath the presser foot of a sewing .machine and adapted to holdat least two plies of fabric together for stitching by said sewing machine, comprising:

(a) two fiat sheets, including an upper sheetand a lower sheet, parallel to and below said upper sheet;

(12) each of said upper and lower sheets having formed therein a slot representing a predetermined stitching path;

(c) said slots being formed in said upper and lower sheets in a position such that the centerline of said slot in said upper sheet can be made to overlie the center line of said slot in said lower sheet when said lower sheet is positioned in a predetermined location below said upper sheet;

(d) a gripping surface formed on one of said upper and lower sheets on that surface of'said one sheet which faces the other of said sheets and adapted to grip a piece of fabric placed adjacent said gripping surface between said upper and lower sheets; and

(e) guide means on the upper surface of said upper sheet adjacent-one end of said slot in saidupper sheet and adapted to lower and raise said presser foot of said sewing machine. when said template device is moved to pass said guide means beneath said presser foot.

2. A device as set forth in claim 1, wherein first guide means are provided on the upper sheet to guide the presser foot of a sewing machine downwardly into the beginning of the stitching path and second guide means are provided on the upper sheet to lift the presser foot of the sewing machine at theend of-the sewing path.

3. A'device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the first guide means include a downwardly bevelled surface along which the presser foot can be moved into thebeginning of the slot in the upper sheet.

4. A device as claimed in claim 3, wherein abutment means are provided adjacent the bevelled surface, said abutment means serving to direct the presser' foot of the sewing machine to the bevelled surface and to prevent said foot from overshooting the bevelled surface.

members are provided on an inner surface of the lower sheet adjacent side edges thereof which are adapted to engage in complementary aperture means formed in the upper sheet.

8. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the upper sheet is formed of transparent rigid plastics material.

9. A device as claimed in claim 8, wherein collinear with each end of the slot in the upper sheet extends a further narrower slot which, except for a small portion adjoining the end of the wider slot is sandwiched between members mounted on the upper and lower surfaces of the upper sheet to reinforce the area of said sheet adjacent the end of the first-mentioned slot.

10. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein a lining sheet is provided on the upper surface of the lower sheet of the device and lining pads are provided on the lower surface of the upper sheet and disposed outwardly of the lining sheet so that when fabric plies are operatively disposed between the sheet of the device slight stretching of the plies takes place in parts thereof between the lining sheet and lining pads.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,623,075 4/27 Thomas 1122 2,211,768 8/40 Dorkin 223-1 2,985,126 5/61 Rhodes 112235 3,03 4,458 5/62 Bennison 1122 3,113,537 12/63 Bono 112-158 FOREIGN PATENTS 65 3,177 5/51 Great Britain.

JORDAN FRANKLIN, Primary Examiner.

THOMAS J. HICKEY, Examiner. 

1. A TEMPLATE DEVICE FOR USE BENEATH THE PRESSER FOOT OF A SEWING MACHINE AND ADAPTED TO HOLD AT LEAST TWO PLIES OF FABRIC TOGETHER FOR STITCHING BY SAID SEWING MACHINE, COMPRISING: (A) TWO FLAT SHEETS, INCLUDING AN UPPER SHEET AND A LOWER SHEET, PARALLEL TO AND BELOW SAID UPPER SHEET; (B) EACH OF SAID UPPER AND LOWER SHEETS HAVING FORMED THEREIN A SLOT REPRESENTING A PREDETERMINED STITCHING PATH; (C) SAID SLOTS BEING FORMED IN SAID UPPER AND LOWER SHEETS IN A POSITION SUCH THAT THE CENTER LINE OF SAID SLOT IN SAID UPPER SHEET CAN BE MADE TO OVERLIE THE CENTER LINE OF SAID SLOT IN SAID LOWER SHEET WHEN SAID LOWER SHEET IS POSITIONED IN A PREDETERMINED LOCATION BELOW SAID UPPER SHEET; (D) A GRIPPING SURFACE FORMED ON ONE OF SAID UPPER AND LOWER SHEETS ON THAT SURFACE OF SAID ONE SHEET WHICH FACES THE OTHER OF SAID SHEETS AND ADAPTED TO GRIP A PIECE OF FABRIC PLACED ADJACENT SAID GRIPPING SURFACE BETWEEN SAID UPPER AND LOWER SHEETS; AND (E) GUIDE MEANS ON THE UPPER SURFACE OF SAID UPPER SHEET ADJACENT ONE END OF SAID SLOT IN SAID UPPER SHEET AND ADAPTED TO LOWER AND RAISE SAID PRESSER FOOT OF SAID SEWING MACHING WHEN SAID TEMPLATE DEVICE IS MOVED TO PASS SAID GUIDE MEANS BENEATH SAID PRESSER FOOT. 